I Never Left Your Side
by JewishNinjaChick
Summary: After 9x24, Ziva collapses in to Tony's arms in the elevator, and is unconscious for several days. How will this affect Tony, and how will Agent Gibbs handle it? Major TIVA!


_**Disclaimer: Obviously, I do not own NCIS. If I did, Ziva and Tony would have been married many seasons ago.**_

After 9x24

The bomb went off, and the elevator shook. Ziva lost her balance and fell in to Tony's arms as they both hit the hard floor. Parts of the elevator's metallic ceiling and walls crashed violently to the floor, and Tony's grip on his partner tightened.  
"Ziva?" Tony whispered, praying she would give a response.  
He waited a moment. Silence. Rolling his partner over on to her back, he checked for a pulse. She was alive. Unconscious, but alive.  
Taking a moment to check himself over, he saw a few minor cuts on himself, but nothing serious. Ziva, however, had a stream of blood trickling across her face from being thrown against the wall before hitting the floor. As Tony softly wiped the blood with his sleeve, he heard someone yelling from outside the elevator.  
"Anyone in there?" said the voice.  
"Yeah! Two of us! My partner's unconscious!" Tony screamed. He tenderly pulled Ziva back in to his arms and sat her upright, hoping she'd wake up.  
Minutes later, the elevator doors were thrust open by a crowbar, and a paramedic appeared. He was accompanied by Agent Gibbs.  
"Boss!" Tony said, happy to see Gibbs was alive. "Where are the others? Are they okay?"  
"They're all fine, DiNozzo," he said, as he got down on his knees to inspect Ziva's head wound, "Abby and I were in the basement, and with the exception of some lost evidence and broken beakers, everything is fine. McGee got hit with some glass and is at the hospital getting stitches, but he will be okay too. Ducky had a heart attack at Jimmy's wedding, but he is fine now and they have scheduled a flight home for tomorrow morning. What about you, DiNozzo?"  
He looked down at his unconscious partner, who he was still holding tightly in his arms, then looked back at his boss. "I'll be fine when I know that Ziva is."  
The paramedic moved to lift Ziva off Tony's lap and on to the stretcher, but Tony pulled away and tightened his grip on her. Slightly embarrassed, Tony said, "She's uh...my partner and I are very close...I need to be with her."  
Before the paramedic could reply, Gibbs said "DiNozzo, let the paramedic take her. We will follow close behind. Come on, you'll ride with me."  
"I can't, Boss."  
"You can't what?"  
"I can't leave her. Not when she's in the condition she's in, Boss."  
Agent Gibbs thought for a moment, but agreed to let Tony ride in the ambulance with Ziva. In the ambulance, Tony watched as two paramedics tended to her, hooking up an IV in to her arm and running some tests. Their hurriedness rubbed off on Tony, and as he sat in his chair next to Ziva, he found himself shaking with fear. Reaching out and grabbing her hand, he whispered, "Please, God, let her be okay."

*****

At the hospital, they immediately took Ziva in for x-rays. She was still unconscious, and as Tony sat out in the waiting room with Agent Gibbs for what seemed like eternity, he felt his entire body tightening. He couldn't focus on anything except his partner. Where was Ziva at this second? Were they giving her any medications? How long before she would wake up? Or worse...Would she wake up?  
"Calm down, DiNozzo." Agent Gibbs's words brought him out of his daze and back to the waiting room. He realized that he had stood up and began pacing around the room. He now returned to his seat, but just as he did so, a nurse came in to the room.  
"Ziva David?" she said, and Tony raced to her side, followed by his boss. "We are going to look over her x-rays, but we have her in a room now. We will need to keep her until she wakes up."  
"How long will that be?" asked Tony  
"We don't know yet, sir. She's in pretty bad shape right now. She appears to have had a severe concussion. But if you would like to see her, she's in room 1204."  
The nurse could barely get her sentence out before Tony ran towards the room. He paused at the door, took a deep breath, and walked in. When he saw Ziva laying there with stitches in her forehead, an IV still in her arm, and hooked up to an oxygen tank, he nearly passed out.  
"Ziva" he breathed, and pulled both of her hands up to his mouth. He kissed each of them several times, and then gently laid them back down. Then, leaning in, Tony softly kissed the stitches in her forehead.  
Agent Gibbs walked in to the room and sat down in one of the chairs against the wall.  
"DiNozzo," he said "She's going to be fine."  
"I know, Boss. It's just-"  
Tony was cut off by the sound of Agent Gibbs's phone ringing.  
"Yeah. Gibbs." He said, as he answered his phone and walked in to the hallway.  
A minute later, Agent Gibbs walked back in to the room.  
"That was Abby," He informed Tony, "She has a lead for me. She thinks she knows where Harper Dearing may be hiding. I'm going to go pick up McGee and go check it out."  
"Okay, Boss. I think I'm going to stay here with Ziva tonight."  
Gibbs rolled his eyes. "Go home, DiNozzo," He said as he walked out of the room.  
Once his boss was out of sight, Tony turned to his unconscious partner and whispered, "I won't leave you, Ziva. It would take an Army to pull me away from you."  
Tony lifted the blanket that was covering Ziva and got under it. Cuddling his partner against him, he felt a sense of relief knowing Ziva was safe in his arms. In his opinion, his arms were where she had always belonged. Stroking her soft brown curls, he finally calmed himself down enough to fall asleep.

*****

In the morning, Agent Gibbs walked in to the room to find Tony still in the hospital bed with Ziva's face nuzzled to his chest. He was angry that his agent had disobeyed orders after he told him to go home last night, but at the same time, he felt it unnecessary to wake him. Instead he left a note saying he had been there, and that he was now leaving for the airport to pick up Ducky and Jimmy Palmer. He knew he would be rather early getting there, but sitting in an airport seemed more interesting than watching his two agents sleeping.  
Tony woke up to the sound of a nurse knocking on the wooden door around 09:30. She walked in and smiled at Agent DiNozzo.  
"Sorry to wake you, sir, but I need to check on Ziva. Are you her husband?"  
"I wish" thought Tony to himself, but in reality he answered, "No, just her partner."  
"Oh," said the young nurse, looking confused as to why he was in bed with her, with his arms wound so tightly around her body. She shrugged it off, and continued, "I need to change her bandages, and hook up a different fluid in her IV."  
After everything had been adjusted, the nurse left, once again leaving Tony alone with Ziva. He looked down at her. She was still unconscious, her perfect face resting so delicately against his chest, and her arms entwined in his. He remembered Ziva's ex-boyfriend, Ray. He had proposed to her, but by some miracle, Ray had ended up not being who Ziva thought he was, and she broke up with him.  
"I wonder what I would be doing right now if she had married him?" Tony wondered to himself. He certainly wouldn't be cuddling Ziva against his chest, that's for sure. No, that would be Ray's job.  
Not wanting to think about Ray anymore, Tony grabbed the remote and turned on the TV. Being the middle of the day, nothing good was on, and Tony quickly got bored and drifted off to sleep again. He was enjoying every moment of being able to finally sleep with his beautiful partner in his arms, regardless of the fact that she was completely unaware of her surroundings. He wanted to be sure that when Ziva woke up, he was the first thing she saw.

*****

Agent Gibbs walked back in to the hospital room, this time accompanied by Ducky. He rolled his eyes at the sight of Tony still sleeping with Ziva in his arms. Ducky, on the other hand, smiled.  
"What are you smiling at, Doc?" Agent Gibbs asked.  
"Love, Jethro," he responded, "is a beautiful thing, for those of us lucky enough to experience it properly."  
"But, Tony and Ziva, they're not...Tony's just..." Agent Gibbs was at a loss for words, but the intelligent older man found them for him.  
"Jethro, sometimes, we have to accept that things are out of our control. Take my heart attack for example. Did I want it to happen? Of course not. But I refuse to let it bother me. Your little rule #12, about not dating co-workers...I believe we have allowed it to prevent Agent David and Agent DiNozzo from experiencing true happiness for long enough now. If you personally choose to not engage in romantic relationships with your office mates, that is your choice. But I have every reason to believe Agent David and Agent DiNozzo need each other, quite desperately, I may add. Plus, Jethro, use it to your advantage. They would make you some fine Grandchildren," he paused, then said, "Life is short, my friend. If you love someone, they need to know."  
Ducky winked at Agent Gibbs, and then quietly sat down, allowing him to fully absorb and think about what he had just told him.  
Only a minute or two had passed when Abby bounced in to the room, her braids flopping everywhere and her caffeine powered energy quickly filling the room.  
"I came to check on Ziva!" she announced, "But it seems as if Tony's already got that covered."  
"Your presence is always a delight, Miss Sciuto," said Ducky.  
The three of them sat there for nearly an hour, Abby's energy serving as entertainment, until Tony woke up. Looking around the room, he yawned and took in the faces of his three co-workers.  
Tony barely had time to focus before his boss said, "I need a word with you, DiNozzo. Come with me down to the cafeteria. I'll buy you some coffee."  
Gently sliding Ziva out of his arms, Tony nervously got up to head down to the cafeteria with his boss. He was hungry, now that he thought about it. He hadn't eaten since yesterday. What time was it, anyway? How long had he been asleep?  
Leaving the room, he turned back to Abby and Ducky. "Take good care of her. If anything happens, call me. Immediately." When they nodded, he raced down the hall to catch up to Agent Gibbs.

*****

The cafeteria was crowded and noisy. After going through the cafeteria line, the two men silently cleaned the remnants of the previous occupant's salad off a table and sat down. Tony tried not to appear as nervous as he was. Why had his boss so abruptly told him to come down here with him? It had to be about Ziva. But then again, his boss seemed awfully calm. Normally when someone broke one of his rules, Agent Gibbs was livid.  
"So, DiNozzo", Gibbs said, taking a sip of his coffee and breaking the silence, "I had an interesting conversation with Ducky earlier."  
"Oh, really?" said Tony, still wondering where this was headed, "And what was this conversation about?"  
"You", replied the senior field agent.  
"...and?" Tony said as he felt his stomach drop. He knew he was in trouble. He was about to be fired. There was no way he could hide his feelings for Ziva from his boss now. Agent Gibbs had seen too much. At least if he was fired, he could date Ziva freely, as she wouldn't be his co-worker any more. A million other thoughts raced through Tony's mind, but he braced himself for the worst.  
"And, I have a question for you."  
"What is it?"  
"Agent DiNozzo, are you in love with Agent David?"  
Tony was unsure of how to respond. He tried to answer, but no words came out. He sat there looking like an idiot until Agent Gibbs repeated his question, this time in a more demanding tone.  
"Are you, or are you not, in love with Agent David?"  
This time, Tony managed to mumble something that resembled a "Yes."  
"DiNozzo, Ducky reminded me earlier today that life is short, and if you love someone, you need to tell them."  
Tony was confused. "Boss, are you..." He paused to organize his thoughts, and then continued, "Are you giving me permission to date Ziva?"  
"Ducky also reminded me earlier that sometimes things happen that are out of our control, DiNozzo. Am I thrilled that you want a relationship with Agent David? No, not entirely, but at the same time, I am aware of the fact that this is your life, not mine. I know Agent David feels the same way about you that you feel about her. I can tell by the look on her face when she sees you. I know the face." Agent Gibbs was quiet for a moment. After a long silence, he said softly, "It's the same way that I used to look at Shannon. God, I would give anything to be able to look at Shannon that way again, even just one more time. DiNozzo, I want you to promise me something."  
"Anything, Boss."  
"I want you to promise me you will tell Ziva you love her every day. I want you to thank God for her and live for her. You never know when you are going to lose the one you love...And I know from experience that the one you are truly in love with is next to impossible to replace."  
Tony's insides filled with warmth. He couldn't do anything but smile at his boss. He couldn't even process everything that he had just heard. All Tony knew was that he had permission to date Ziva. Permission to love her. Finally, Tony had something he could really and honestly be happy about. Plus, Agent Gibbs said he knew Ziva felt the same way about him. He couldn't wait for Ziva to wake up so he could tell her, really tell her out loud- not just in his head like the hundreds of times he had practiced to himself- that he loved her.

*****

Several days passed. Nurses came in and out. IVs were changed. Ducky, Abby, McGee, and Gibbs all came in and out. Jimmy Palmer and his new wife, Breena, had even stopped by with their best wishes. Tony never left the hospital. Not once.

*****

Ziva woke up and the room spun around her. She squinted and focused her eyes until she could make out enough of the room to tell she was lying in a hospital bed.  
Looking down at herself, she could see another person's hand wrapped around her limp body, their warm chest up against her back. Using all the strength she had, she turned over to see Tony sleeping peacefully beside her. He looked awful, he clearly hadn't showered recently, but she still got butterflies in her stomach at the sight of him. She wondered how long she had been here. The last thing she remembered was falling in to Tony's strong arms in the elevator.  
Pulling one arm out from under the blanket, Ziva saw the IV in her arm. She gently pushed Tony's shoulder, trying to wake him. His eyes fluttered open, and the sight of her, awake, in his arms, made him feel like he had never felt before.  
"Ziva", he whispered, "How are you feeling?" It took everything he had to keep himself from kissing her delicate lips. He wanted so badly to pull her completely against him. Just to tell her everything.  
"I'm alright. I'm not sure what happened. I just remember falling...falling in to your arms."  
That made Tony smile, the fact that she remembered that. He explained to her what happened, from the elevator, to the x-rays, who had been there, everything.  
"...and the whole time, Ziva, I've held you in my arms. I've been here with you the whole time."  
Ziva's heart swelled. She didn't know it was possible to feel love this strong. She wanted to be in his arms forever.  
"But...Gibbs?" she said, "Didn't he get mad?"  
Tony laughed. "At first, yes. But we talked. The fact is, I am in love with you, Ziva David. No one will ever change that. I'm done pretending, and I won't risk losing you again-"  
Before he could finish his thought Ziva grabbed his face and kissed him. All of the passion and emotion that they had both been hiding for so long was finally getting released. They held each other's bodies tightly and intimately. They couldn't stop.  
Neither of them knew exactly what had just happened, but what they did know was that they had finally found their soul mates.


End file.
